OUR PROCESS- From the Perspective of Baseball
February 4, 2026
What baseball can teach you about your money
I recently rewatched Moneyball, the 2011 film about Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s. If you haven’t seen it, here’s the setup.
It’s the 2002 baseball season. Beane was the general manager of a smaller-market baseball team with one of the lowest payrolls in the league.
He couldn’t afford the big-name players. So he had to find another way to win. He found it in a young Yale economics grad named Peter Brand.
Brand showed Beane something the baseball establishment had overlooked for decades. The most important stat wasn’t batting average or home runs or stolen bases.
It was on-base percentage or how often a player gets on base, by any means. Not flashy. Not exciting. But it worked.
The A’s won 20 games in a row that season, tying an American League record.
They did it by ignoring what everyone else was chasing and focusing on the one thing that actually mattered.
I’ve thought about this approach a lot over my 40+ year career as a financial advisor. And since 2013, I’ve used this same basic philosophy with my clients.
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Focus on what matters.
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Ignore the noise.
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In baseball, that one thing is on-base percentage.
When it comes to RETIREMENT - it’s your retirement paycheck… the reliable cash flow that lets you live the life you want.
Not the hot stock tip. Not the complicated strategy your brother-in-law swears by. Not whatever the financial news is screaming about today.
Your retirement paycheck. That’s your on-base percentage.
Here’s what’s strange. This idea isn’t complicated. It’s almost obvious. Everyone knows the tortoise beats the hare. And yet, when it comes to money, most people still chase the hare.
They get bored with what’s working and look for something more exciting. They listen to friends and coworkers who have completely different goals and circumstances. They panic when the market drops and try to play catch-up when they feel behind. The gap between knowing and doing is where most financial mistakes live.
So what’s the solution?
Build a plan that reflects who you are. Your values, your goals, your priorities… not someone else’s. A personalized strategy is the foundation everything else sits on. Then - Review and update it regularly.
Reviewing is different from updating. Our firm reviews all our clients’ financial plans almost daily. The inputs that make up the plan need to be updated. I recommend at least once a year.
Stick to your plan. This is harder than it sounds. But it’s where the magic happens.
Ignore the news. The financial media needs your attention to survive. You don’t need theirs to thrive.
Check your portfolio less often. Seriously. Less.
Talk to your advisor before making big decisions. A quick conversation can save you from an expensive mistake. Or an unwanted tax bill.
Get on with living. Your plan exists to serve your life, not the other way around.
Do the things you love with the people you care about.
Billy Beane trusted the boring approach when everyone told him he was crazy. It worked. You can trust it too.